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J. E. YOUNGQUIST CROSSING SIGNAL Aug.v 12 1924. I 1,504,592

Filed March 2.9 19221 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Aug. 12, 1924. 1,504,592

J. E. YOUNGQUiST- CRssI-NG SIGNAL Filed March 29', 1924 2 sheets-sheer z l. o V A I ,l/ ,/9 /f z,

Patented Aug, l2, i924,

UNITED STATES P ATENT f caossING SIGNAL.

Application filed March 29, 1924. Serial No. 702,854.

To all wlw/1n t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOHN Eivocii Yonne- QUisT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sterling, in the county of Logan and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Crossing Signals, or which the following is a specificatioii, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

rllhis invention .relates to improvements in ailway crossing signals and more particularly to a signal adapted for use at highway crossings of railways and particularly grade crossings. illu important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character adapted to vbe positioned centrally of the right of way and operated by the approach oi" the train, trolley car or the like, to be moved to operative or warning position where it, to a certain degree, obstructs the right of way.

il further object oi the invention is to providea device oi this character so constructed that if struck by a vehicle it may yield without injury to either the vehicle or signal.

il still further object off the invention is to provide a movable signal. or semaphore of this type having electrical means forl moving it to elevated position, including a part releasing the current of' the actuating means and maintaining the signal locked in elevated position until the circuit formed by the train passing over a given section of track is broken.

i still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be very readily constructed and installed, is simple and durable in its opera-v tion and which requires minimum of attention.

These and other objectsl l attain by the construction shown iu the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose ot illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein l'igure l is a plan view showing a signal constructed in accordance with my invention applied to a railway crossing;

Figure 2 is an ilaiged sectional view through the signal;

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view thereof;

Figure l is an enlarged detail view showing the operating` portion of the signal when in a locked position;

Figure 5 is a detail cross sectional view showing the manner of supporting the cover plates;

Figure 6 is a detail view showing the construction of the Contact 28; and

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view showing the mounting of the semaphore arm` upon the operating lever.

Referring now more particularly to tl e drawings, the numeral l() indicates a rectangular casing, the walls of which are preferably formed or" concrete, the casing being buried so that` its upper surface flush with the upper surface oi the highway, the longitudinal axis ol the casing being disposed transversely of the right of way. The casing is provided upon one longitudinal wall thereof with outwardly extending shelf portions 11 co-operating with ledges l2 formed by rabbetting the upper inner edges of the casing to receive a pair oi cover plates 13 which meet at the center of' the casing and are provided with adjoining coacting slots le disposed adjacent the longitudinal side of the casing from that upon which the shelic portions ll are dis-` posed.

` Mounted in the upper portion of the longitudinal wall adjacent which the slot il is disposed, is a pivot l5 to which is secured a triangular piece of metal forming a bell crank lever generally indicated at 16. One edge of this piece of metal is noi'- nially disposed horizontally, as shown in Figure 2 at 17 and the other edge thereof is arranged vertically and has pivoted thereto a semaphore i8 normally disposed in the saine general plane as the .lever i6 andmaintained in such position by the hinge connection of the sections indicated at 19, these hinges embodying springs normally maintaining this alignment but permitting yielding ot the plate so that it may move to a yposition at right angles to the part olf the lever at either side thereof. The purpose of this construction will hereinafter become more apparent. Secured to the wall el; casing having a pivot l5 is a spring QU so positioned that when the semaphore l( disposed within the casing or in inoperative position, Vit abuts thereagainst and its move ment is limited. lWhen the lever is opeiated to elevate the semaphore to the operative position through the slot it this lever comes into engagement with the s ning 2O and its movement to operative position is thus limited. Y

Disposed within the bottom et the casing .is a solenoid 2l, the armature bar 22 of rhich extends longitudinally of the casingand has secured to its free end a flexible member 23 which is trained over pulley 2l arranged immediately beneath the vertical edge of the lever l@ when in operative position and then secured to the tree end of the lever as at 25. Then the solenoid l energized, this armature bar is drawn into the winding moving the end 25 Vof the lover downwardly until it assumes the operative position. By this movement the semaphore 18 is shifted upwardly through the slot le and appears above the surface of the right of way to provide a warning.

rlhe outer end of the armature bar has secured thereto a lug 26 formingl a con!5 4t point. lmmediately adjacent the outer .end of the solenoid an electromagnet 27e is disposed, the armature bar of which has its downward movement limited by a post 28 forming a contact, the armature bar having upon its undersurface a coacting contact 29, The end of the armature bar is provided with an upwardly facing` luig 30 and the length of this a mature bar is such that when the plunger 22 is fully drawn into the solenoid winding, the lue; 2G of the plunger is arranged toward the solenoid winding` 2l trom the lug 3() of the armature bar. Since the lug 2G faces downwardlyj it will be obvious that if this armature bar is now drawn upwardly, the result will be latching' of the plunger 22 in its position within the solenoid winding' until the armature bar is again released.

ln Figure 4 l have shown the wire connections of the signal as above described. rllhe coil windings of the solenoid and electromagnet are connected with one another at one end by a wire Ill. lP rom this wire a connection 32 is made to one rail of the railway, it beingv understood that in a sec;- reg'ated section ot the rail the sections at each side of the track are electrically connected to one another, From the second rail a wire 32il is led to one terminal. of a source of current 3?; preferably a battery located within the casing l0. ln the opposite terminal of this battery a wire 3st is connected with the armature 30. From the post 28 a wire is connected to the second terminal of the solenoid winding'. From the second terminal of the electromagnet a wire 36 is connected to the contact lug 26 of the plunger 22. This contact is preferably made adjustable longitudinally of the plunger 22, as indicated at 37. lVith the connections above the operation of the device is as follows. The train entering the electrified :cone in the railway completes the circuit as follows: from the battery, through wire 32'L1 to one rail, across the rails through the train, (not disclosed).rthrough wire 32 to wire 3l. completi one side of the circuit to both the solenoid and electromalenet, from 2 Y opposite sido the solenoid through wire to Contact st contact 29 of the armature ano 'troni this armature through wire l-lthe batterv 33. At this time the circuit of the electromagnet is broken between the contacts and the batso there is no current dowinel through the electromagnet'. he energizing` of the solenoid results in the plunger 22 boire' drawn into the same with the result that the side l? of the lever 1G is moved to a vertical position and the semaphore 18 is shifted upwardly through the slot movement in this direction be' limited by the engagement of the lever 16 with the spring 20. s the plunger 22 mm es inwardly, the contact lue' tiereof immediately before the plunger reaches the .limit of its movement has a brush engagement with the contact 3() with result that a circuit is completed from second contact of the electromaguet 2T t rough wire 36, contact. 2li. Contact 30, armature bar 30', wire. Bil to the battery thus completing' the circuit of the electromagnet with the result the armature rar is drawn upwardly and as soon the lugr 26 is passed thereover, completes i s upper movement and lies in the path of return movement of this lng); 2G thus .arching the plunger in operative position so that the seat of the semaphore arm, which at this time is unbalanced due to the fact that the pivotal connection thereof is' disposed one side of its centerA cannot act through the flexible element 23 to withdraw the plunger 22. At ention is directed to the factthay the tendency of the semaphore ,i8 to return to its inoperative position, places a continual strain upon the ph'fnler 22 insurineY the proper engagement between contact lugs and 30 and thereby insuring` proper conn `etion ol" the circuit to the electromrnnet until the train has left the electrified section of the railway. As soon as this occurs it will be obvious that the cirenitto the electronla` net will be broken hetween the rails and the armature bar released so that it may more downwardly. ln order that the armature bar may not he frictionallj.' held in elevated position by the engagement of the lugs 2li and 30. the faces h il il S

of these lues which coact at this time are preferably beveled as indicated. The armature bar A y leased. brin," fo ei'iejagement contacts 2S circuit in readiness for netion thereof by occupathenext con tion of the "l electrified zone.

downwardly and ref lt will be obvious that a structure of this character is capable of a considerable range of use and that it may be very readily installed and attended. The breaking of the relatively heavy solenoid current and main tenance of the relatively light current necessary to the electromagneticlatch, prevents too severe a strain upon the source of curn rent and enables efficient operation of the signal. From the source ofcurrent lead wires may be led to the semaphore for the purpose of illuminating the same during dark and twilight hours, one of these wires preferably having a switch S arranged therein so that the circuit may be broken at other times. lt will be furthermore obvious that the structural details of this device is shown as capable of a certain range of change and modification and I have, therefore, not specified such details and do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the general construction herein illustrated except as hereinafter claimed.

l' claim l. ln a signal of the type described, a casing adapted to be buried in the highway and having a cover forming a portion of the highway, the cover having a slot, a semaphore arranged within the casing, a pivotal mounting for the semaphore for shifting the samein its own plane to project through the slot in the casing and appear above the right of way, means for shifting the semaphore about the pivot thereof and a connection between the semaphore and the mounting thereof permitting movement of the semaphore from a. position vertical to the right of way to a position parallel with the right of way when impinged in a direction longitudinal to the right of way.

2. In a signal of the type described` a casing adapted to be buried in the highway and having a cover forming a portion of the highway, the cover having a slot, a semaphore arranged within the casing, a pivotal mounting for the semaphore for shifting the same in its own plane to project through the slot in the casing and appear Iabove the right of way, means for shifting the semaphore about the pivot thereof and a connection between the semaphore and the mounting thereof permitting movement of the semaphore from a position vertical to the right of way to a position parallel with the right of way when impinged in a direction longitudinal to the right of way, the pivotal mounting of the semaphore being at one side of the center of the gravity thereofl whereby said semaphore tends to automatically return to concealed or inoperative posi* tion and means for locking the semaphore in elevated position.

3. ln a signal for a grade crossing, rails and highways, a casing adapted to be disposed within the highway and having its upper surface flush with the surface of the highway, said upper surface having a slot, a member pivoted within the casing for proj ection through the slot, electrical means for projecting the member through the slot rendered operative by occupation of a predetermined portion of the railway by a car, the pivotal mounting of the member being at one side of the center of gravity thereof whereby the member tends to automatically return to concealed or inoperative position, means for latching the member against such a return movement and rendering said electrical operated means inoperative, said latching means being inoperative when such predetermined section of the railway is unoccupied by a car.

4. In a signal for a grade crossing, rails and highways, a casing adapted to be disposed within the highway and having its upper surface ush with the surface of the highway, said upper surface having a slot, a member pivoted within the casing for projection through the slot7 electrical means for projecting the member through the slot rendered operative by occupation of a predetermined portion of the railway by a car, the pivotal mounting of the member 'being at one side of the center of gravity thereof whereby the member tends to automatically return to concealed or inoperative position, means for latching the member against such a return movement and rendering said electrical operated means inoperative, said latching means being inoperative when such predetermined section of the railway is unoccupied by a car, and means for limiting the movement of the signal to operative and inoperative position.

5. In a signal for a grade crossing, rails and highways, a casing adapted to be disposed within the highway and having` its upper surface flush with the surface of the highway, said upper surface having a slot, a member pivoted within the casing for projection through the slot, electrical means for projecting the member through the slot rendered operative by occupation of a predetermined portion of the railway by a car, the pivotal mounting of the member being at one side of the center of gravity thereof whereby the member tends to automatically return to concealed or inoperative position, means for latching the member against such a return movement and rendering said electrical operated means inoperative, said latching means being inoperative when such predetermined section of the railway is unoccupied by a car, the mounting of said member being suoli as to permit movement of the member from a position vertical to the right of way to a position parallel to the right of way when the member is in operativel posit-ion and is impinged in a direction longitudinal of the right of way. I

6. In a signal 'including a semaphore mov able to operative and inoperative positions and automatically returning from operative to inoperative positionv` operenting` means tor 5 said semaphore to shift the same to operative position and means for locking the operating means to prevent return of the semapliore to inoperative position including an electrically operated latch having; letching parts forming contacts completing the circuit of the operating mechanism thereof.

Vln testimony whereof I hereunto aiiii; my signature.

JOHN ENOCH YOUNGQUIST. 

